Where my fellow cooks at???

[Willie Kool]

Stay Jelly.

Are you going to make an aspic?

or a Godric?

[columbia]

I was expecting you to post this:

Spoiler:

[youtube][/youtube]

[Willie Kool]

I was expecting you to post this:

Spoiler:

[youtube][/youtube]

TBH - that was the first thing I thought of.

[mac5155]

I have been trying very hard to replicate a hibachi style dinner at home with no luck. What are all the different sauces they use at those places? They are thick, so I'm wondering if it's some type of molasses or thickened soy sauce? Also is the oil that they light on fire to cook with, a special type of oil that adds flavor?

[blackjack68]

We all know how this ends right?

[tifosi77]

Trip Advisor's top BBQ joints.
http://www.multivu.com/mnr/70425523-tri ... -bbq-spots" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

#4 is across the street from my regular grocery store.

From what I've heard, #1 is reason enough for a trip to Austin. It's one of those places that opens with a 45-minute line. Been profiled on numerous TV shows, in a commercial where he feeds 'que to a sushi master, I mean he's the real deal. He also has a sweet YouTube channel.

[BigMcK]

Teppanyaki dipping sauces.



[youtube][/youtube]


http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/life/a ... 50358.html

I have no suggestion as to the onion volcano fire.

[mac5155]

Thanks. honestly Im less concerned with the dipping sauces but more the sauces that the chicken, beef, and rice/noodles/veggies are cooked in? Is that just a "stir fry sauce"?

[Tomas]

I need some advice:

Goal: to show my Balkan in-laws that beef does not have to be used just as ground meat

What I will not have: a grill
What I will have: locally-grown beef (strip or skirt steaks), electric and gas stove tops, electric oven

So, what do I do to prepare something that closely resembles medium-rare or medium steaks? Also, given the absence of the grill, will the preparation be easier with strip or skirt steaks?

Thanks!!

[viva la ben]

Strip steaks in a cast iron skillet

[viva la ben]

Or under the broiler

[mac5155]

Hmm, you could go with a nice carnitas style dish with the skirt steak. skirt steak can be tough to cook in my experience. If it's not cooked correctly it comes out tough. Strip steaks could be cooked in a cast iron skillet. I like browning on each side in cast iron and throwing the whole skillet in the oven to finish, when I cannot use a grill.

[BigMcK]

Would a Rouladen work with that cut of meat?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouladen

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/be ... ley_pesto/

[blackjack68]

Strip steaks in a cast iron skillet

This.

[columbia]

I had a good barbecue talk with one of my co-workers today, who is from extreme middle of nowhere SW Georgia. He's firing up the smoker in the early AM and will be doing sausage (lunch), ribs (dinner) and pork shoulder (Mothers Day lunch)...of course he and the kids will pick on the shoulder after they take it off tomorrow night.

Now that's efficient.

[tifosi77]

So, what do I do to prepare something that closely resembles medium-rare or medium steaks? Also, given the absence of the grill, will the preparation be easier with strip or skirt steaks?

I prefer cooking skirts over really high direct heat for a short period of time. Like, 5-6 minutes total. If you want more of a medium doneness, go to perhaps 8 minutes total.

If you are doing strip steaks and you have a bit of time, low temp cooking is more-or-less foolproof. But both options start with a very high-temperature searing step.

Sear:

Spoiler:

Put the steaks in the fridge for an hour or so (uncovered). (If you're adventurous, you could actually put them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes instead.) Pre-heat a pan (cast iron is best, imo) until it is more or less glowing. Oil the steaks (not the pan), and sear them off one by one, giving the pan a chance to heat back up after each steak. You'll need plenty of good ventilation for this. After searing (no more than about 90 seconds per side), remove the steaks and allow them to come to room temp. The reason for chilling the steaks is so the extreme high heat of the searing process does not actually cook more than outermost few millimeters of flesh.

Once the steaks are at room temp, you have two options for actually cooking the steaks: improvised sous-vide, or a low oven.

ISV:

Spoiler:

Place steaks in individual Ziplock bags (the heavy freezer kind), and if you want add some butter or olive oil and herbs. Heat a very large pot of water to the temp you want your steaks (from the sound of it, you're thinking around 130-135 F). Place the bags (open) into the water until the steaks are totally submerged; the water displaced by the meat will force the air out of the bag and create seal. (Archimedes principle at work) Clip the bags to the edge of the pot, and use the burner to maintain your temp (which you are monitoring with a thermometer). Normal size strip steaks will cook in about 45-60 mins. You don't need to let this steak rest for more than maybe 2 minutes before slicing and enjoying.

Low oven:

Spoiler:

Pre-heat the oven to 175F. Place steaks on a sheet tray with a wire rack (or you can improvise one using aluminum foil), and then into the oven. Turn periodically, to ensure even cooking. The steaks should cook in about 25-30 minutes. They will be less uniform in their texture than the ISV method, but they won't be badly overcooked for a 1/8" band around the whole steak like with a high-temp conventional method. If you go this route, you will have to account for carryover cooking, so remove the steaks when they are about 5 degrees below desired temp. And you will need to let the steak rest a bit longer, but no more than maybe 4-5 minutes at the most.

I'm very wordy with my descriptions, so both of these look like a whole lot more work than they actually are. The bulk of the cooking time with either method is totally passive, allowing you to get on with other parts of the meal, wine drinking, etc.

Just remember: Monitor the temperature of the water/oven with a separate thermometer, and also monitor the internal temp of the steaks as they cook. And season the steaks with S&P just prior to service.

[Tomas]

Thank you all very much for the suggestions!

Since I don't think I have ever made a decent steak (even though otherwise I am not a bad cook, I think), here are two questions for Tifosi77:

1) The 5-6 minutes total for skirt steaks are 3 minute on each side, right? And do even those start from 1 hour in the fridge, or is it just for the low-oven strips?

2) I don't think I am ready for ISV (too weird), but I'll try the low oven - what is the internal temperature of the steak that I should be shooting for (if I want medium rare vs. medium)?

Oh, and BTW - when am I supposed to put salt (and possibly a little pepper?) on the steak?

Thanks!

[tifosi77]

First question; yes, chilling the steaks is only appropos for the searing step with the low-temp skirts. You aren't trying to actually cook anything at that stage, just create a flavorful, brown crust and kickstart what is known as the 'Maillard reaction' - the chemical reaction between sugars and amino acids in a protein exposed to high heat.

Second question; steak temps (Celsius/Fahrenheit) are as follows:

Rare - 52/125 – 55/130
Medium rare - 55/130 – 60/140
Medium - 60/140 – 65/150
Medium well - 65/150 – 69/155

If I know the purveyor that the market/butcher sourced the meat from, and I know they do all their steak cutting in-house, I usually only cook strip or rib steaks to rare at the most. (If it's a really good steak, I'll stay bleu rare, which is like 115F) Rare is also the norm for skirt and flank, just because they are such thin cuts that you can go from perfect to useless in no time.

I recommend not seasoning until the steaks are completely cooked and ready for service. The cooking time is so (relatively) long with a low-temp method, if you added salt beforehand it would actually begin to react with the proteins and start breaking them down. You'd end up with an unpleasing texture on the surface, and the meat around the edges would have a chewy consistency. Plus, if you wait to the end you don't need to use as much salt to get the desired effect. One thing I learned on our recent trip to San Sebastián was the power of a single grain of salt on meat. If you use a good 'finishing salt', like Maldon, you only need a one or two grains per bite and you'll be fine. If you use a kosher-type salt, you'll need a bit more, but not as much as you'd use if you were using a conventional high-temp/grill method and salting ahead of time. In those cases, the salt actually helps form the crusty goodness, so it makes sense to season beforehand.

Regardless, I recommend not adding pepper until the very end, even if you're using a high-temp method and salting prior to cooking. Salt is a rock, it won't burn. Pepper is a berry, and it absolutely will burn. So don't add fresh cracked black until the very end no matter what cooking method you use, but especially if you're cooking on high, direct heat. You'll find you don't need as much of this, either, by waiting til the end.

[tifosi77]

Got new cast iron grates for the grills. Seasoning them now: grates wiped with oil, into a hot oven for an hour, turn oven off, repeat 5x.

Every single smoke detector in the house has gone off. Yay. I think I'll continue this process using the grill itself.......

[columbia]

I'm making some tofu chili today.
Or as tif would call it, vegan soup.

[Shyster]

Meatless chili does not compute. The term chili necessarily includes meat. It's like fat-free cheese. Cheese is made of fat.

[mac5155]

What is the best oil for searing steaks at high temps?

[shmenguin]

Grape seed or safflower.

Tif probably has some weird oil I've never heard of on deck

[Tomas]

Tifosi77 - thanks! I feel so much smarter now. It's awesome to listen to people who have superior skills...

[tifosi77]

Flaxseed oil is the best for seasoning cast iron. This was shared at ChefSteps, by their resident vegetarian authority and cookbook author - Michael Natkin.

Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To

Chris Young, bigwig at ChefSteps, contributed the following:

Only two steps are truly crucial when seasoning cast iron or high-carbon steel: first you must oxidize the iron content at the surface into the black oxide known as magnetite (Fe3O4 ), instead of the more common red oxide hematite (Fe2O3 ), also known as rust.

The second step is to form a durable, waterproof film made from oxidized fat that is bound electrochemically to the metal.

You accomplish both steps by coating the wok with animal fats or vegetable oils, then heating it to very high temperatures, more than 480 °C / 900 °F. At these temperatures, the fats decompose into an assortment of molecules, including fatty acids. These acids provide the caustic conditions necessary for high temperatures to oxidize iron into magnetite. The other thing that happens is that the fat degrades and polymerizes into a class of molecules known as esters that form a strong and durable film bound to the metal that repels water and protects the wok from the food. With proper use and care, the patina becomes thicker and more durable over time. It’s this patina that makes a wok or a skillet nonstick.

Now, I don't know anyone who has an oven that can hit 900°F. But that's still fun sciencey stuff. And fwiw, I used canola oil yesterday.